Lioness

Another score for Chef Renee Erickson and her Sea Creatures restaurant group with the grand opening yesterday for Lioness in Seattle's Phinney Ridge neighborhood. This intimate space joins other popular destinations in the same building: Ben's Bread, Doe Bay Wine, and Holy Mountain Brewing & Taproom. It's been a chaotic week, so when there's even a smidge of victory it's great to celebrate. Stopping by the perfect spot on the way home for a beverage, apps/small plates, and/or dessert is a major score!It was fortuitous to survive the usual traffic backups, find street parking, and snag a spot at the bar counter as a party of one without a reservation. After all that sitting at work and the commute, it was actual pleasant to be able to stand and be able to see all the craft cocktails, wine pours, plus culinary action. Welcoming wait staff at the host stand. The din was a bit loud, but bearable. Lots to see from the art work and light fixtures. All the items at the bar shelving and counters. Watching culinary ballet among the wait staff, bar staff, and kitchen staff - well executed! I was offered a choice of sparkling or still water. I really appreciated the gentleman behind the counter who answered my menu questions and provided excellent recommendations. I had a glass of the Lambrusco Quarticello Ferrando Rosato ($17). Delightful beverage! There are wines by the glass, 3 page wine list by the bottle, cocktails, and NA bevs. I then tried the Smoked Black Cod Mousse with olive oil crackers ($18). Loved the flavor, lightness, and pop of the ikura. I'm happy for the serving knife, it allowed me to get every last bit of mousse after I ran out of crackers. Wrapped it up with a slice of the Chocolate Cake with Espresso Mascarpone Cream ($12), I was initially skeptical at first glance of the size of the cake slice, however, with its decadent richness with the espresso mascarpone cream, it was perfect. Not too sweet, not cloying, or dry. Exercised great restraint to create a spot on dessert. Essentially the three items ordered today were Goldilocks-perfect. Considering it was just Day 2, the entire staff was fairly polished.

Everyone was super friendly from the moment we walked in. Everything we tried was delicious- martini, smoked fish mouse, liver pate, clams, salad, panna cotta. The space truly reminds me of Paris. It doesn't look like anything else in Seattle. I will say, since it's so small inside, the tables are sort of close together and it was a little loud. Will go back anyways! Food is more like heavy snacking. Hard to get a full dinner unless you order almost all items.

What a wonderful atmosphere and experience. Attentive service and simple, but thoughtful menu.

Outstanding food and service. Delightful experience enjoyed by all. Meatballs, clams and pasta done to perfection.

A friend & I dined at Lioness this evening-- in the darling outdoor courtyard area. The courtyard- which serves Lioness and Ben's Bread- is a brilliantarchitectural idea in these days of continuing covid cautiousness.I had the burrata; my friend had the clams. The burrata comes with one piece of bread-- the server said to let him know if I'd like more bread. I did-- and received another piece. It was a bit surprising to learn later that I was charged for it.The food was tasty and the experience pleasant. My friend asked for a take out container for the remaining portion of her meal. "Oh, we don't do take away..." Here's a tip: if you try to make a res via their reservation system, don't believe that they are booked up. The server told us that the system maxes out at 6 reservations-- so they may very well have room. Call them and ask if they have a table-- sometimes the old school methods trump the new.

Was super excited to check out Lioness with some girl friends on a Saturday. We were unable to get a reservation so we arrived at 4:00 (when they open) for the best chance of getting a table. We were able to get one and were told we had the table until 5:30, which was fine! They have a large wine list but also feature cocktails as well. I wish there were some descriptions on the wine glasses, as I was not familiar with many of the wines... for example: "favorita - tibaldi langhe" or "muller thurgau - kurtatsch". The server was helpful though, when I described what types of wine I typically like. Unfortunately, I didn't end up loving the wine I got (garganega - gini soave), but it was great to try something new. We got the oysters, which were tasty (and I had never had olive oil on oysters before). The other food looked tasty, but we didn't order anything else this time. The one downside, which was a big one for us, was that the music was super loud and the acoustics do not seem to be great (everyone's voices seemed echo-y and amplified). I read another review about the loud atmosphere here and decided to check it out for myself. We were a group of 3 and I had a hard time hearing my friend who was sitting next to me. It also seemed odd to be that loud, given this is not a club or club-y type bar. It's a nicer wine/cocktail bar with elevated food, so not necessarily like a sports bar atmosphere or somewhere you'd expect it to be so loud. We were hoping for a more low-key /chill atmosphere. I'd definitely give them another chance, as they opened recently --seems like there is potential for things to improve (and for me to try more of the food, but would hope that they address the noise/music volume). Just note that if you are hoping for a chill/relaxing environment to catch up with a friend, this may not be your vibe.

The food was delicious. The wine was nice. The ambiance was quite lovely. The service was not great. The house manager/host was awful. I was first in line at 4:00 p.m. The house manager came out to greet the line. He ignored me and handed menus to the couple behind me to look at while we waited for the restaurant to open. I knew something was up when he then wouldn't make eye contact with me at the 4:00 p.m. opening. I don't know if it was that I was there alone waiting for my friend to join me, that I am a middle aged woman, or a combination of both. As Bruce Springsteen says in the song, Dancing in the Dark, before I left the house, I checked my look in the mirror. I was more than presentable looking in my green cashmere sweater and high end jeans and suede boots. (Why does that even matter?) After smiling continually at the man with my mouth and Irish eyes, he had to acknowledge my existence. He brought me into the empty restaurant and seated me at the far end corner next to the wall. Hidden away from all to see. The next couple were seated near the entrance. My host warned me that I had the table until 6:00 p.m. Two hours seemed plenty. I was quickly greeted with sparkling water and a menu. I was able to order a cocktail while I waited for my tardy friend. Then I was ignored...except of course by the clearly annoyed house manager. As the house filled up, he had to seat a couple next to me. My small purse was placed next to me on the bench. House manager announced that he was seating someone next to me, and indicated with some obvious flicks of his hand that I should move my purse. (It was not in my neighbor's seat.) I obeyed him.As my friend was tardy due to having to drive in not one, not two, but three 20 mph school zones, she was later than anticipated. While I waited for her, It took three tries to get my wait staff's attention to plead for olives. (She was standing with her back to me on her phone announcing to the sous chef that it was International Women's Day.)House manager returned to the scene of the crime (me) and responded to the wait staff's inquiry on how things were going. He replied, "Good, except, we have this one." nodding in my direction. I still am unclear of my crime. My fabulous and charming dinner companion arrived. She entered with a splash of PTSD, not from her commute, but upon being confronted by the house manager as she attempted to enter the restaurant. But for his blue cotton chef's jacket, one might have confused him with a 1970's Manhattan bouncer at the famed dance club, Studio 54. (No matter how amped up on coke you were, you were not getting pass them). Puffing his chest, legs astride, Jack Reacher style, he demanded to know why my friend wanted to enter his den. (Get it? Lioness?) She humbly pleaded permission to meet me, her friend, inside, being held hostage.Relieved to learn that he seemed to just not like me, but perhaps middle aged women in general, we got right down to the business of ordering burrata for appetizer, (delish) the pasta dish and the meatball dish for entree (double delish) and the chocolate cake for dessert (ridiculously delish.) At this time, I thought may be we were on a role. We only had to beg for attention twice more to get our order in and respect our 6:00 p.m. deadline.Alas, that was not to be. The people seated next to us were attended to and served quickly and efficiently and were able to leave in due course. As my wonderful friend and I were held hostage waiting to be served, house manager paid me another visit: he was again seating people next to us; he again needed to flick his hand in an aggressive manner, this time with lips pursed, at the insolence of my purse lying next to me on the bench. We left at 6:45. There were tables open in the restaurant so may be the 6:00 p.m. deadline no longer applied; we were trying hard to be respectful of that deadline. It was just that hard to get service.We got the check. l never check the check. I checked the check this time--may be because of the intricate origami design in which it was presented? Good thing. I was charged for a full bottle of wine, when, in fact, I only had a glass. The wait staff took the check to correct it. No apology offered. With check missing, our credit cards lay on the bronze dish. House manager went in for the kill, whisking away our credit cards, bonus glare included, but without the corrected check. Waitress returns check. We thanked her and told her the house manager had our credit cards. She smiles and says, "We all work together." Huh?The bright spot, not bright enough to mitigate the experience, but bright enough that I do want to mention that a mustachioed man with a mullet-lite hair cut that was curly in the back, was an absolute delight. He came over and asked how my drink was. (I lied and said it was great because at that point I was suffering from Stockholm syndrome. Any attention from my captors was welcome.)

Food was good, what I'd expect of a Renee Erickson venture. Ambience was excellent, mostly due to the design of the courtyard, (that's the architect, not the restaurant.) Junior waitstaff was delightful and pleasant, but the house manager/"host"/bouncer was about as rude as I've ever experienced in a restaurant setting. The other reviewer who said host was channeling Jack Reacher got it spot on! Steer clear of the place if that guy's at the door.

One of the best restaurants in Seattle hands down. The entire staff is incredible! Standing at the bar is such a unique experience that takes me back to times spent in Europe. The ambiance is spot on and the food is some of the best around. Huge shout out to the bar program/Hudson. Such an outstanding cocktails menu and incredible bartending skills. Will be back again and again.

My friends and I were very excited to try Renee's new spot. Overall the food was delicious and the cocktails were great. The interior is absolutely beautiful, and service was lovely. The biggest downside was that the music was turned up so loud I could barely hear my companions, and I had to nearly shout across the table for them to hear me. We asked the server if it was possible to turn the music down, and she said she would see what she could do-- volume stayed the same. We gave feedback to the host on our departure and he replied stating that he preferred the music loud, so I suppose that it might stay that way for the time being. If you have sensitive ears, I'd recommend another spot! We were also disappointed to see the restaurant's reservations became available on tock and not open table. We were checking open table for when reservations would become available, as we expect consistency across the restaurant group. We were delayed in booking because of this. This, along with the music volume inside the restaurant, is the reason for a lower rating for what is otherwise a lovely restaurant. We plan to return later this month and we're hoping I'll be able to improve this review's stars with an updated experience!